Ironton, Ohio.
Not exactly what you think of when you hear the term “football powerhouse.” But, actually, Ironton has strong roots as a football city, as it was home to one of the first professional football teams, the Ironton Tanks.
The Tanks played from 1919-1930, and the field on which they played is now the home field for Ironton High School, the home of 2021 Ohio State linebacker signee Reid Carrico.
The Carrico File
- Class: 2021
- Size: 6-foot-3/225 lbs.
- Pos: ILB
- School: Ironton (Ironton, OH)
- Composite Rating: ★★★★
- Composite Rank: 84 (5 ILB)
Carrico, who is rated as the No. 84 overall player, the No. 5 inside linebacker, and the No. 4 player in Ohio in the 2021 class, gives Ohio State "country boy toughness," something that Carrico is very prideful about.
“It’s a matter of who’s gonna break first,” Carrico told Eleven Warriors. “I always like to think the other person’s gonna break before I will ... That’s just the way I am. That’s the way I approach the game. It’s worked out pretty good for me.”
His recruitment was relatively uneventful, as he committed back in September of 2019, more than a full year before he signed, as the fifth member of Ohio State's standout 2021 class. Carrico chose Ohio State over early offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida and Michigan, as it was always assumed (correctly) that he would stay at home.
Big shoes to fill in #H2 but we know youre more than ready for the challenge. Welcome home @CarricoReid #GoBuckeyes #NationalSigningDay pic.twitter.com/hxfzYvVSN7
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 16, 2020
Carrico is a good athlete and has a nose for the football as a downhill-type player, although this season was his first as a true inside linebacker. At 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, Carrico already has a college-type body, but will undoubtedly benefit, as every young player does, from working with Ohio State strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti.
Carrico is one of six Ohioans in the 2021 class, joining Jack Sawyer, Jaylen Johnson, Mike Hall, Ben Christman and Jayden Ballard. This is not a fact that is lost on Carrico, someone who wanted to represent his home state.
“[The 2019 Cincinnati game] was my first time going to an Ohio State game live in my life and seeing the atmosphere,” Carrico said. “I’ve been to a spring game, but it’s not the same animal. That’s really when I knew. When I went up there and I seen all the daggone tents and stuff and campers and all these people with face paint, that’s when I knew. These people are diehard. I got family who’s into Ohio State and all that, and I thought, ‘This is the place for me.’"
As mentioned, Carrico is the lone linebacker in this class, unless the hybrid safety Johnson grows into the position. Nonetheless, it is clear Ohio State's staff is comfortable with Carrico on the inside and he will likely be swarming the football for years to come as a tough, physical Big Ten linebacker.
